Free Lady Moonlight by Rita Rainville Page A

The sum total of my knowledge is just about exhausted when I explain to out-of-state tourists that in Spanish a 7 is an h, and two ls are a y, which, of course, is why La Jolla is pronounced La Hoya."
    "Have you ever considered taking a Spanish class?"
    "Of course!" she replied in amazement. "l have taken them. Again and again. But nothing makes sense or sticks with me. Everything sounds the same. In class exercises someone would ask me how I felt and I'd tell them my name. Or they'd ask my name and I'd say I was fine. The kids point me out as the crazy lady who went to the store for eggs and asked for a dozen Thursdays." She grinned at his sudden crack of laughter.
    "Admittedly, the words huevos and jueves look different on paper, but when I say them, they come out the same. I also made the mistake of memorizing a few questions to use in the shop with Spanish-speaking customers. Things like 'May I help you?' and 'Is there something in particular you would like to see?"'
    "Why was that a mistake?"
    Kara shifted Elva to her other shoulder and said simply, "Because they answered me. They were so delighted to hear something familiar, torrents of words poured out of them. They never stopped, even to breathe. They would call in their sisters and brothers and aunts and uncles who were waiting outside, and they would talk to me."
    She looked up at him. "What I should have learned to say was, 'Stop! I only know how to count from one to ten,' or, 'You're not using any of the thirteen words I know. It wasn't funny at the time," she said, grinning despite herself. "Now, I point and raise a questioning eyebrow. If that doesn't work, we play charades. We have a good time, and no one seems to mind."
    No, he thought, keeping close to the truck ahead of him and automatically coping with the heavier traffic, they wouldn't mind. He wasn't the only one drawn to her spontaneity and warmth. He wasn't the only one who watched for the smile that began in her eyes, curved her lips then illuminated her entire face. She attracted people to her with the same ease that a magnet drew metal filings.
    His hands tightened on the steering wheel. How many men had seen themselves reflected in her dark eyes as they bent to kiss her? How many had laced their fingers in her silvery hair and tugged her closer?
    How many had lain beside her in a bed warm from their naked bodies and stroked her breasts, listened to her soft cries? How many had ...
    "Dane? Hey, what's the matter? You look awfully grim for someone who's going to a beach party."
    He shook his head, replying absently as he looked into her upturned eyes. Eyes fringed by absurdly long, dark lashes, eyes that shone with concern and . . . and what? Friendly acceptance? He didn't know what her eyes held, but he realized with a surge of exultation what they didn't hold. They lacked that gleam of unconscious sensuality, the look of knowledge, of experience. By God, he thought triumphantly, if there had been any, there hadn't been many. And now he was here. It's as simple as that, he thought. He was here. There would no longer be men in her life.
    Only a man. Only him.
    Kara cuddled the baby, talking soft nonsense to her, unaware that her fate was being decided by the man beside her.
    ❧
    The afternoon passed in flurry of chaotic activity. The boys pulled an old blanket out of the truck, dumped firewood in it and, each hanging on to a corner, hauled it to an area away from the crowd.
    Answering Dane's questioning look, Kara explained.
    "We make a point of staying to ourselves because there are so many of us. It's easier to count heads every few minutes."
    A soccer game was begun, but it soon turned into a jumbled version of boys-versus-girls touch football, with Dane the coach and captain of one team. Kara was called in to serve as the other captain when
    Juanito decided he wanted to referee.
    "You don't even know how to play," Kara objected. "How can you call a foul?"
    "I'll tell him when," Dane said with a